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Lipata
|Reported=1932 |Researchers=• Bernard Heuvelmans }} The lipata or libata is a cryptid crocodilian reported from 's Chiumbe and Kasai Rivers, described as an animal similar to the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) but much bulkier and wider. Monard, Alber "Sur l’existence en Angola d'un grand reptile encore inconnu," Bulletin de la Societe Neuchdteloise de Sciences Naturelles 57 (1932) Description The lipata is often compared to a crocodile by natives, and sometimes outright called a'' crocodile, but is said to be larger on average, about 13 to 20'' long. Like a crocodile, it has a serrated ridge of scales along its tail, but its mouth is larger and its throat wider than a Nile crocodile, and its eyes are positioned on the top of its head, rather close together. When shown illustrations of large and small crocodiles by Albert Monard, Angolan natives "unhestitatingly selected" the larger crocodile as the lipata; when shown a broad and a narrow crocodile, they called the broader animal lipata. According to some informants, the lipata is said to usually remain hidden in the water, only coming to the surface between nine and ten o'clock in the morning; others claimed that it also came to the surface in the evening, just before sundown. All agreed that it was very active during the rainy season. It is said to come out of the water only very rarely. It will attack goats, pigs, cattle, and crocodiles, often swallowing its prey in one mouthful, though it is also said to be shy of people, diving and disappearing when approached. Women who fished on the Chiumbe River made a habit of yelling as they approached the water, to scare away any lipatas. The lipata was apparently rare in 1932. Around Tyipukungu there were said to be only two animals left (several were reported to have been killed), one living around six miles upstream from the other, although other informants reported that there were three or more lipatas in the area. Albert Monard was told in 1932 that the upstream lipata had left its home to settle even further upstream. Sightings Undated A lipata was reportedly once killed by a white man. Having shot a hippopotamus one evening, the man came back the next morning to haul his kill from the water, but found two lipatas eating it, one of which he shot and killed. circa 1890 In around 1890, a group of natives set a trap for a lipata which had taken three of their cattle. The animal took the bait, and was killed. 1927 One informant of Albert Monard claimed that whilst he was on his way to Dala in 1927, some natives approached him to ask for guns to kill a lipata which had just taken one of their cattle. 1931 In 1931, a lipata took an ox and a goat from Tyipukungu. 1932 A man from Tyipukungu claimed to have seen a lipata sleeping on dry land on 1 September 1932, at around nine or ten o'clock in the morning. Similar cryptids Roy P. Mackal wrote that the lipata was probably identical to the mahamba of the Congo, which he believed could be either a new species or an oversized Nile crocodile. Notes and references Category:Cryptids Category:Africa Category:Angola Category:Crocodilians Category:River monsters Category:River & lake monsters of the Congo system Category:Theory: Mistaken identity crocodilian Category:Theory: New crocodilian species Category:No recent sightings